Mushahid meets new OIC Secretary General, hopes that 'OIC will be injected with new vigor and life'

Date : 07-08-2014

Islamabad: Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Chairman, Senate Defence Committee has expressed the hope that with the election of the new Secretary General, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), representing 57 Muslim countries, will be injected with new vigor, vitality and dynamism as the voice of the Muslim Ummah.  He made these remarks while receiving the new OIC Secretary General,  Iyad Ameen Madani, at the Parliament House, along with a group of parliamentarians.  The meeting, which lasted for 90 minutes, was held in a frank and friendly atmosphere.

Welcoming the OIC Secretary General, Senator Mushahid Hussain said that Pakistan attaches high hopes in the OIC that with a new leadership, the OIC will finally be able to fulfill the expectation of Muslims all over the world and serve as an effective spokesman for the cause of oppressed Muslims be they in Palestine, Kashmir and Myanmar. He regretted the fact that the crimes against humanity committed by Israel in Gaza have also exposed the impotence and the incompetence of Muslim regimes who have failed to take any effective measures to counter Israeli aggression or support the struggling Palestinians  of Gaza.  In this regard, he praised the courageous role of King Faisal Shaheed of Saudi Arabia in 1973 Arab-Israeli October war when he launched the oil embargo to punish the Western supporters of Israel.  He also reminded the OIC Secretary General that Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah personally presented the resolution on Palestine on March 23, 1940 at Lahore along with the Pakistan Resolution and the PLO first achieved international recognition at the Lahore Islamic Summit in 1974.

Referring to the fact  that the new OIC Secretary General is a former journalist and Minister for Information, Senator Mushahid Hussain urged the need for the OIC to have an effective media presence globally so that the OIC voice is heard and he also called for the revival of the International Islamic New Agency (IINA), so that 'our narrative on issues facing  Muslims is promoted and projected effectively".!

Senator Mushahid Hussain also appreciated the services of King Abdullah, the Custodian of the Holy places in Saudi Arabia, who had presented "Abdullah Plan" way back in 2002, calling for an  independent Palestine state with Jerusalem as its capital & withdrawal of Israel to its pre-1967 borders.

Prominent Senate leaders including Senators Tahir Hussain Mashhadi, Afrasiab Khattak, Sehar Kamran, Farhatullah Babar and Saeeda Iqbal also spoke on the occasion and gave new ideas and proposals which were appreciated.